Apparatus for packing eggs.



No. 657,729. Y Patented Sept. ll, I900. H. D. CRIPPS.

APPARATUS FOR PACKING EGGS.

(No Model.) (Application filed July 18, 1899.) 2 shaets she6t WITNESSES THE raonms PETERS 5:0. vnm'olrmou wnsumcmn, n. c.

No. 657,729. Patented Sept. ll, I900. H. D. CBIPPS.

APPARATUS FOR PACKING EGGS. (Application filed July 18, 1899.; (No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

UNrrED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HAMILTON DAW'ES CRIPPS, OF VVATERLOO, ENGLAND.

APPARATUS FOR PACKING EGGS.

sPEoIFIcAT'IoN forming part of Letters Patent No. 657,729, dated September 1 1, 1900.

Application filed July 18, 1899- Serial No. 724,250. \No model.)

Be it known that I, HAMILTON Dawns ORIPPS, a subject of the Queen of England, and a resident of Waterloo, near Liverpool, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Apparatus for Packing Eggs and the Like, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to apparatus one object of which is mainly to provide improved means'of securely and readily packing, free from liability of damage by breaking or other harmful conditions, such articles as eggs or fruit, which may vary considerablyin size, for the purpose of storage or transport, and which articles, among other things, at the same time may, on account of their being living organisms, require ventilation, an even temperature, cleanliness, protection from wet, and as little vibration as possible; and it has the further object, in the case of eggs, to provide a means of readily turning large numbers at one operation upside down at intervals and placing them in a vertical position in order to prevent the yolks from settling to one side, which is a known plan of keeping the eggs in a good state of preservation for a considerable period.

The invention may be employed in connection with other fragile things than those above mentioned.

The packing devices or contrivances accord ing to this invention consist of strings of purses of pliable fabric or material. Each pocket is large enough to freely receive the largest article of the kind it is intended to pack. The divisions between the pockets are made by contracting or gathering in the material into a neck or waist at certain distances, so that the articles may thereby be caused to lie somewhat centrally in the purses and away from each other and also so that the twisting, as explained lower down, may be caused to tighten the nets at the right places. Suitable handles or fastenings are attached to the ends of the strings of purses, so that when the articles are placed in the purses the strings can thereby be twisted around their longitudinal axes and the ends fixed either to one another or in a frame or box.

The annexed drawings illustrate the invention, in which- Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation showing a plurality of packings accorrL ing to this invention containing the articlessay eggs, &c.to be transmitted and supported within a packing-case. Fig. 2 is a transverse section of the case and contents, taken half at the lineA A and half at the line B B, Fig. 1; and Fig. 3 is aplan showing part of the case and its contents with the cover removed. Figs. 4 and 5 show two packings according to this invention, respectively com prising three and six purses, one being loose and unfastened and the other twisted up and fixed. Fig. 6 illustrates in detail in section one structure of packing-purses to a larger scale.

Referring to the purses, these are designated a in the drawings and consist, essentially, of flexible materialsuch as loose textile, Woven, knitted, felted, or any other equivalent structure of fabric or material. An example of a suitable structure of fabric (to which, however, my invention is in no wise restricted) is illustrated in and is hereinafter described with reference to Fig. 6. In the case of the packing being made up from strips or pieces of woven or otherwisemanufactured fabric it is converted or made into a string of purses by folding the strip over into tubular form and bringing the edges onto one another and then gathering in and binding the tube so formed at certain distances along, as at b, by external binding strings or cords or in other suitable Ways, so as to constrict the fabric at these parts, and thereby make or form the purses. In the drawings the binding is shown effected by an external cord or ring 17, which is so combined with the fabric as to prevent the binding moving along to the fabric. The entrance to the purses will then be at the meeting edges of the fabric and extend longitudinally from the constricted parts or divisions I). These openings or entrances in Figs. 4 and 5 are represented by the lines o.

In Fig. 6 the fabric of which the packings- 'i. e., purse-stringsare made is suitable for goods of a brittle class and consists of lateral strands of comparatively-large size, as represented, of soft, open, or loosely-comprised fibers of cotton, flax, wool, or any othersuitable fibrous material and longitudinal twisted strands or threads 6, of stronger material. The strands d are continued only, say, around the body of the purses-that is, they are omitted at the constricted portions 17, as shown, so that the purses at these parts consist solely of the longitudinal strands e, where each pair of warps may be twisted about each other spirally, as shown, and the longitudinal strands some distance apart at the body of the pursesand hence these strands (Z constitute the chief portion of the packing around the body of the article packed, inasmuch as they afford the padding or cushioning function outside the fragile egg or article of that class within, and by this construction air can reach the packed articles, which in many cases is desirable, and also the bulk of the material used to form the purses exists where the packed articles would be most likely to be pressed upon or knocked and where they require the most padding. However, although this fabric is suitable and can be used with advantage in connection with packings for eggs the invention is not restricted to it. The longitudinal strands e of the packing should be of comparatively-strong material which will allow of twisting and which will return to its former length after being twisted and having moderate tension put upon it.

In lieu of the strings of purses being of netted, knitted, or woven fabric they may be made cellular and soft with padding of any suitable kind, or stuffing or padding may be fastened or sewed onto one side of the fabric the purses may be made of any other suitable material. In the packings, according to this invention the divisions between the purses are made by gathering in the material of which they are made into a neck or waist. In this way the strings of purses are enabled to be twisted around their longitudinal axes in order to shorten, close, and tighten them and to hold the contents from falling out and place the articles at an equal pitch, and

p then they can have their handles fixed either to one another or in a frame or box. By this construction,a1so,the articles are caused to lie somewhat centrally in the purses and away from one another when they are placed in them. When being screwed up or twisted, as just described, the strings of purses turn most freely where the divisions are constricted, and hence they shorten and tighten first on the articles at those points. Accordingly, to cause the twisting to pitch the articles equally the divisions also should be constructed equally. Of course the divisions between the purses may be made in other ways than by external bindings, as by sewing, or it may be done by employing around the fabric at this part a pad of cork, wood, wool, felt, or the like, held by bindings, cords, or fastenings, so that the size of the divisions might be regulated to fit in frames or boxes, or, again, the divisions or constricted parts may be held or made by rings 01' ferrules.

The ends of the fabric of the strings of purses, as shown, form loops through which solid or split links are passed or introduced, and the loops are afterward bound to concentrate them on the links. The strings of purses can be secured in packing-casesas, forinstance, as shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, or otherwise, as may be required.

Referring now to Figs. 1 and 3 in the drawings, a plurality of set-s of strings of purses ct are shown arranged and held within a pack ing box or case, of which i represents the body, and j the removable or detachable cover or lid. On the inner side of the end pieces of the box Z there are double or loop hooks 71:, disposed in the vertical plane and adapted to receive and hold one of the split rings or links g of each of the strings of purses, and also eyes or hooks Z, adapted to receive the fasteningpin m, which passes through and holds one of the rings g of said strings of purses. These rings rest also on the upper side of the hooks or eyes Z. These hooks k and Z are respectively arranged alternatingly on the opposite ends, in the case shown there being four of one and six of the other on each end. This differential fastening is provided mainly for the purpose of enabling one end of the strings of purses to be first fixed to one end of the box and then subsequently to fasten the other end by slipping the rings g or links at that endover the open ends of the hooks k. In packing a box the strings of purses, with their eggs or other contents, are each fastened at one end by the forming the base of the string of purses, or

fastenings Z, as described, and are then twisted by turning the free end until they are shortened by it and made of slightlyless length than the box, so that moderate 3 tension has to be put upon the free end to pull it out, so that the ring at this end can be slipped over the hook 7a. In connection with the hook-fasteners In there is a slide 0, guided by staples 0' and passing through the prongs of the loop-hooks It, so as to close the hook, as it were, and prevent the rings or links g from coming off the said hooks. The hooking and unhookingis done when the slide is pulled up, so that the projecting parts 0 of such slides are out of the way of the h0ok,,and after the purses are hooked on the slide 0 is pushed 1 down, and so closes the hook.

Intermediate supports are employed in the case for keeping the intermediate purses between the ends from moving out of place and bearing on the hard surface of the box, and these supports in the case shown consist of wires 10, the ends of the purses which come against the wires. In such cases, also, the purses are so arranged that the larger part of themnamely, the body of one set of tierslie in spaces existing within or about the constricted parts of the other tiers, and hence the inner strings receive their support as regards the parts between their extremities from the other tiersthat is, each article when not otherwise supported is held at eight places by the fabric around the articles on either side of or about it. In this way all the purses may be made to interlock and to hold every article firmly without any undue pressure in any one part, whether it is over or under the average size of its kind. For holding the packages down in the box they are bound by cords r, passed over the strings of packages, as indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, and passed under hooks s, of which there are several in each side of the case, and thus by threading the cord or string.

4" over the strings of purses and under the hooks s to and fro the whole body of packages will be bound down in position and cannot move. When this is done, the packing is complete, and the lid j may be put on and fastenedin any suitable way.

By the use of this invention as applied to the carrying of eggs the breakages I find by many experiments on long and rough journeys to be a very small percentage, and the breakages, moreover, do not get the packages into a foul mess, and the broken eggs do not spread over othereggs and render their appearance unsightly or cement them together in the way which happens with most packages for eggs, nor are packages destroyed or damaged, as they can be easily washed and cleaned.

What is claimed in respect of the hereindescribed invention is- 1. A packing for eggs, fruit and the like comprising a continuous string of purses of textile fabric and means for restricting the fabric at the points which are to constitute the ends of the purses, the said textile fabric being of greater thickness in the body portion of the purses than at said restricted portions,- substantially as described.

2. A packing for eggs, fruit and the like, comprising a continuous string of purses com posed of continuous flexible material, with the material between the purses annularly constricted, said constriction being concentric with the longitudinal axis of the string of purses, and each of said purses having an independent longitudinal opening, snbstan= tially as described.

3. A packing for eggs, fruit and the like comprising a continuous string of purses of textile material thickened at the wider portions of the purses, the portions between said purses being annularly constricted or gathered, and a fastening device at each end, sub"- stantially as described.

4. A packing for eggs, fruit, and the like, comprisingasingle piece of textile fabric with permanent bindings at intervals constricting the packing at suchintervals annularly, and concentrically with the axis thereof, and form ing a plurality of purses, and each of said purses having an independent longitudinal opening formed by the meeting edges of the fabric, and constituting the means for inserting and withdrawing the articles, substan tially as described.

5. A packing for eggs, fruit and the like comprising a box,continuous strings of purses, fastening devices 9 at each end thereof, fastenings 2', and fastenings Z, m, and hook-fastenings 7: adapted to engage the fastenings g, and fastening-closing devices 0 closing the hooks 70, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand in presence of two witnesses.

HAMILTON DAW'ES ORIPPS.

Witnesses:

JOHN H. WALKER, FRANK E. FLEETWOOD. 

